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During the 250th anniversary of the United States, it is worth revisiting the lives of three Black Americans who fought for all to claim the promises of the Declaration of Independence: Elizabeth Freeman, Lemuel Haynes, and James Forten. Each individual confronted the paradox of the new American government denying them the same legal and moral rights the founders championed during the Revolution.
By embracing and extending the Revolution’s ideals within the Declaration of Independence, Black Americans revealed both the hypocrisy and the hope of the founding era. Rather than remaining passive victims or silent witnesses, they actively shaped the political, legal, and moral meaning of freedom in the United States.
This post is based on an essay by Intellectual History Editor Paul Meany entitled "The Black American Founders." Read it on Libertarianism.org.
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